Christkind

A woman dressed as Christkind is surrounded by children as she reads their lists of wishes on November 13, 2008 in Engelskirchen, western Germany.

In Austria, many loathe the thought of the jolly man in the red suit. To them, Santa Claus is the representative of secularism and commercialism – Austrians prefer their venerated, religion-inspired gift-giver Christkind, meaning “Christ Child”. Appearing as a winged angel, Christkind delivers presents just the same, but with an emphasis on peace, calm and family. Christkind first appeared in Protestant Germany in the 1500s and spread to neighboring Catholic Austria in the late 1800s.